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Niko Bellic
¨''Life is complicated. I killed people. Smuggled people. Sold people. Perhaps here...things will be different." : ―Niko Bellic in ''GTA IV's first trailer, Things Will Be Different. : : Niko Bellic (Нико Беллиц in Serbian) is the main protagonist of Grand Theft Auto IV. He is also a supporting character in The Lost and The Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony. : : Niko grew up in Yugoslavia, where he fought in the Yugoslav Wars. He later worked for organized crime syndicates as a hired-gun in Liberty City. Ever since the Yugoslav Wars ended, Niko's main goal in life was to find and kill one of two men: Florian Cravic or Darko Brevic, for one of them betrayed and nearly killed him during the Wars. Niko is the younger cousin of Roman Bellic and the son of Milica Bellic. : : Biography Early life and family Niko was born in Yugoslavia in 1978. It was implied that his father was an abusive alcoholic. His mother, Milica Bellic, was unhappy that her son grew up in such a harsh place. In a conversation with Patrick McReary, Niko reveals that he had a brother who died during the Bosnian War. According to the dialogue in the mission Taking in the Trash, Niko dreamed of becoming an astronaut when he was a child. In a conversation with Dwayne Forge, Niko mentions the house where he grew up in did not have electricity until he was twelve. In a conversation with Kate McReary, Niko says that he found out his aunt (Roman's mother) was raped and murdered, some time after Roman's departure to the United States. Knowing Roman would be even more devastated if he knew the true circumstances of his mother's death, Niko covered up what happened, telling him that she died in a house fire. Bosnian Wars Niko grew up in the harsh environment of the Yugoslav Wars, and was a teenage soldier of presumably the Serb-controlled Yugoslav People's Army or its many aligned Serbian paramilitary forces and militias fighting against the government forces of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Bosnian Croat Croatian Defence Council. (The Yugoslav Wars were fought between 1991 and 2001, which means that Niko was only 13-23 years old at the time). Niko says that he was betrayed "ten years ago", making it closer to 1997 or 1998 (although Florian claims that it was "twelve or thirteen years ago" in a phone call after the mission That Special Someone). He served as a helicopter pilot and an infantryman during the war, and during the mission Easy Fare, Roman alludes to him driving a tank. During the war, Niko both witnessed and committed numerous atrocities, which led to his cynical perspective on life, and a certain degree of regret, depression, and emotional detachment. Eventually, Niko's unit of fifteen men (most of them friends from his hometown) were ambushed by enemy forces, but Darko Brevic, Florian Cravic, and Niko himself survived. Niko concluded that either Florian or Darko had sold the group out, and he vowed to uncover and kill the culprit, not only to gain revenge, but also to hopefully 'close the book' on the incident, and move on with his life Post-war Life Niko had trouble finding steady work after the war. Niko's cousin, Roman, had already moved to America to start a new life in Liberty City while Niko spends the next decade working in the European criminal underworld, leading to a period of incarceration in a European penitentiary. After his release from prison, he began working for a human trafficking ring led by Ray Bulgarin; when a boat involved in the operation sank in the Adriatic Sea during a smuggling run into Italy, Niko swam to safety, but everything and everyone else was lost. Bulgarin believed that Niko had intentionally scuttled the ship and stole his money; the gangster's reach was too great within Europe, so Niko joined the merchant navy to escape Bulgarin's influence. During Roman's Sorrow, Niko reminds Roman of an occasion in Europe where they encountered a bar which had burned down and there was only one bottle of vodka left, so they sat down and finished it off. Events of GTA IV : "More people want me dead than alive. I'm working for the Mafia. The police and a government agency are both on my case. I kill and steal to scrape together a living so my cousin can fritter it away online and pay off debts...and all the while? People are trying to kill us! What is fun?" : ―Niko Bellic Niko spent seven months on the cargo ship Platypus, which eventually smuggled Niko into Liberty City. During the game, Niko says he moved to Liberty City because he wanted a new life by living the American Dream, but when he does arrive in Liberty City, he has nothing except Roman. Niko parted ways with Hossan and the Platypus crew there, partly to reunite with his cousin, and partly to track down Florian Cravic, who had moved to Liberty City after the war. Roman had been boasting of great success in Liberty City, but in truth, his assets amounted to a small, gritty taxi depot and a derelict apartment, and he was saddled with heavy debts due to his gambling habit. Niko would assist Roman in his taxi business, and protect his cousin from the loan sharks who were harassing him. Roman's connections eventually led to Niko making friends with Little Jacob, and taking work from the Russian Mafia, setting in motion the events of the game. After killing Vladimir Glebov, Niko is spared by Mikhail Faustin, although Dimitri Rascalov wanted him and Roman killed. After killing Mikhail, Dimitri reveals his connections with Ray Bulgarin and turns against him, even trying to kill him. Niko and Roman flee Hove Beach when their apartment and Roman's taxi depot were burned down. It is at this point that Niko becomes a hitman and an associate of many. Mallorie Bardas, Roman's girlfriend, introduce him to two contacts, Manny Escuela and Elizabeta Torres. Niko develops affiliations and becomes a worker of the McReary Family, Playboy X, Dwayne Forge, and the Pegorino Family, to name a few, over the course of the game. Maximizing his hatred of Dimitri, Rascalov gets Roman kidnapped. Niko eventually becomes in forced contact with an International Affairs Agency front under the name of United Liberty Paper, who blackmails him into doing some "country-protecting" work. Also, Ray Boccino managed to help Niko find Florian Cravic. When Niko confronts him, Florian, who nows calls himself Bernie Crane, begs for forgiveness and claims he is not only a homosexual but that he is not the one who betrayed Niko (despite escaping). Niko forgives him and actually begins helping Bernie with his life. As a sign of gratitude towards Niko for his work with them, the U.L.P. locate Darko Brevic in Romania and smuggle him into Liberty City. Niko confronts Brevic, who confesses that he sold Niko's army unit out for $1,000, which he used to fund his heroin addiction. Enraged at the fact his unit were betrayed for such a paltry sum, Niko holds Brevic at gunpoint. Whether Niko kills Brevic or not depends on the player's actions. After his confrontation with Brevic, Niko meets Jimmy Pegorino again. Pegorino asks Niko to do a heroin deal with Dimitri Rascalov. Niko is reluctant to do so, because of the bitterness between himself and Rascalov. The conclusion of the storyline depends on the player's decision. * Deal * Revenge If the player chooses to do the deal with Rascalov, he will betray Niko again and send a hitman to assassinate Niko at his cousin's wedding. Niko survives and eventually kills the assassin, though his cousin Roman is killed during the shootout. Enraged by this, Niko chases Rascalov, who killed Jimmy Pegorino, throughout the city before confronting and killing him on Happiness Island. At the end of the game, a Weazel News report states that Niko is wanted for questioning by the police (although not as a suspect) for the events of his cousin's wedding. If the player chooses to take revenge on Rascalov, Niko fights his way onto the Platypus ship, which Rascalov is loading with heroin, and confronts Rascalov over his earlier betrayal of Niko. Niko executes Rascalov, which leads to the downfall of the Pegorino family. Angered at Niko's betrayal, Pegorino attempts to assassinate him in a drive-by shooting at Roman Bellic's wedding, but instead kills Niko's girlfriend Kate McReary. To avenge Kate's death, Niko, along with his friend Jacob Hughes, chases Pegorino throughout the city before confronting and killing him on Happiness Island. Niko's immigrant status is uncertain, and arouses the suspicion of the LCPD and FIB. Although Niko often protests that he "has his papers" while fleeing police, Roman says that Niko does not have a visa. This is further evidenced in a Liberty Tree article about the death of the Platypus's captain, Zorba Philippidis, which states that none of the crew possess visas. If Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend is played after Pest Control, Niko tells Packie that he intends to go after Ray Bulgarin, although Ray would be killed by Luis Lopez. :